Learnings from collaborating hospice providers

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the annual community gathering for NorthStar Care Community with Transcend’s president and CEO, Stephanie Johnston. It was a chance to see several of our clients in person in a beautiful setting in Boulder, Colorado. The intimate group (relatively speaking for a conference) of 80 attendees were able to pull away from the day-to-day operations of our respective roles and devote focus to topics ranging from AI, quality and compliance, leadership models and first-hand stories about patients and families whose lives have been impacted by hospice.

A key opportunity we see for providers in general is to broaden the awareness of their services and accent how they are different from other providers.” – Courtney Penn, COO, Transcend Strategy Group

One of the takeaways that resonated with me reinforced some of the work Transcend has been doing recently with clients around sales and admissions collaboration. NorthStar Care Community COO Krista Newman moderated a panel discussion on the topic of dyad and triad leadership and how micro teams among organizations can foster cross-functional communication and productivity. This affirmed that synergy among key departmental leaders is crucial to the overall functionality of macro processes such as admitting patients. We’ve often referenced the goat rodeo of admissions, which is another way of saying many different tasks or functions within a process must operate correctly in order to reach the overall goal – in this case, admitting eligible patients to hospice.

In our client engagements recently, we have seen the tremendous impact of convening historically siloed groups to solve bottlenecks within the admissions process. Carving out space to enable synergy and collaboration is essential and NorthStar leaders and presenters were effective in showcasing the importance of aligning around the “why” behind process improvements and encouraging ownership of the mission among teams.

Another session highlighted the importance of vendor relationships and intentionally treating them as partnerships in which both sides (client and vendor) invest time and take accountability for their roles in the engagement. The message that resonated with me is providers should critically select vendors that have a heart for the work you do, whose mission and values align closely with yours, and who will roll up their sleeves and get in the trenches with you when times are tough. This type of grit and commitment requires dedication on the part of both vendors and providers to continually engage and align on objectives, success metrics and outcomes.

There was also no shortage of tear-jerking stories of remarkable patient care and meaningful end-of-life experiences. As consultants, we live to hear about the impact our clients have on patients of all ages. Award recipient after award recipient reminded everyone in the room – providers and vendors alike – that what we do matters even if we as individuals are not at the bedside providing care. We are all essential to the commitment and focus on improving the quality of and access to care for all who need it.

If it’s been a while since you’ve accompanied staff in the field, or if you’ve never visited a patient on service at your organization, I highly encourage you to prioritize it. Seeing first-hand how your operations impact those you care for can be one of the strongest motivators to develop a culture of urgency.

Speaking of increasing access to care, a key opportunity we see for providers in general is to broaden the awareness of their services and accent how they are different from other providers – especially in competitive, non-CON environments. Branding, messaging, and marketing strategies and tactics should hinge on and amplify an organization’s unique positioning in markets served. The goal is to avoid vanilla hospice messaging – focus on what makes your flavor of offerings special!

We appreciate all the work and planning that went into the NorthStar Care Community gathering and are looking forward to attending next year. If you are interested in learning more about NorthStar – or how to create meaningful differentiation for your organization – reach out to us at [email protected].